Palestinian Authority launches census of West Bank, Gaza Strip

JERUSALEM, Dec. 9 (JTA) — The Palestinian Authority’s first census has brought the conflict over Jerusalem to the surface. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reacted to the census of West Bank and Gaza Strip residents by reiterating that Israel would not allow the Palestinians to conduct the census in eastern Jerusalem, a move that he said would infringe on Israel’s sovereignty over the city. Israeli security officials were stationed this week in Arab neighborhoods of eastern Jerusalem to block residents from returning the questionnaires to Palestinian Authority officials. Population figures for the West Bank are unclear. Israel’s civil administration, which began overseeing the area after 1967, has acknowledged that figures are not up to date. The Palestinian census began Tuesday, the 10th anniversary of the start of the intifada, the Palestinian uprising that lasted until the start of the Oslo process in late 1993. Palestinian officials, who called the census a historic development, denied that they were polling eastern Jerusalem, but said it would be easy to obtain information through other sources. “I have been contacted by Israeli companies offering to conduct the census for us in eastern Jerusalem,” Hassan Abu Libdeh, the director of the census, told Israel Radio. He accused Israel of trying to politicize the census. The future of Jerusalem is perhaps the most sensitive issue slated to be discussed in the final-status negotiations. The Palestinians want the eastern half of the city as the capital of an independent Palestinian state. Israel counters that Jerusalem must remain as its eternal, indivisible capital.